Following a 31-year run on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the showgirls from the revue Jubilee! gave one last choreographed kick in 2016. The show, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, ended its run due to declining audience numbers and critical reviewers who described it as a spectacle “a relic of another era”.
Today, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Master of Glitz
Known as the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glitz his signature style, clothing everyone from Hollywood icons to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “naked” bodysuit he created for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the younger performer who is desiring something other than what they grew up with”, he told a newspaper. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Mainstream Comeback
It’s a look that glided all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s original Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were perfect for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, showgirl references have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they zoomed across world tours in glitter, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, illuminated against camp sets. A top stylist Lorenzo Posocco explained to a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, her performers fluttered giant plumed accessories.
Pulling from Tradition
These artists and other chart toppers also reference classic entertainment forms, including classic theater and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the late-century teen pop of revealing tops and cargo pants, and street-style dance moves that preceded this trend.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the early 2000s says the trend is “bemusing”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an catch-all phrase covering everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even modern pop stars.”
A Highly Sought-After Retro Look
For millennial and millennial stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, Zendaya paid tribute to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a translucent embellished dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, Miley Cyrus paid an significant price to buy the Mackie fringed mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among fashion collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says a historian, head of special collections at the a Las Vegas university, who documents the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘toned-down’ sexy because it has been adapted. It has got all the glamour, the sparkles and the sparkle but without the exposure.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to one-time leader Oscar Goodman who, during civic functions, was surrounded by two showgirls. Although Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still featured as an emblem of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a enduring icon of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
The Allure of Transformation
Nancy Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl is part of the appeal. This idea Swift hints at in a recent documentary series that shows the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless performances across 21 countries, each going on for 3.5 hours.
She describes her own nights in the spotlight as “like running a marathon in heels every night”. Her headdress weighed 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the stairs to the performance area from the dressing rooms three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my moment so I could catch my breath before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this fantasy that it’s easy and stunning and dreamlike.”
Maybe this is where the fascination of the showgirl fantasy really lies. In the busyness of 2025 there is a longing for fantasy. Who better to turn to than such icons, who have always represented make-believe, flawlessness and a realm where nobody makes a mistake.
